Wheel



April 16,, 19%|? F. w. BURGER 2,1973% WHEEL Filed Oct. 31, 1936 5 Sheeizs-Sheet 1 Patented Apr. 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WHEEL Application October 31, 1936, Serial No. 108,585

1 Claim- This invention relates to wheels and more particularly is directed to disc wheel structures in which the rim is'demountably secured to the disc.

In previous disc wheel constructions with 5 which I am familiar, the rim has customarily been permanently secured to an outer flange on the disc, and the disc has been detachably secured by means of mounting studs to'the hub of the wheel. Such constructions are objectionable m for several reasons, such as the necessity for carrying an extra disc and wheel for use in case of blowouts or the like, the necessity for providing adequate mounting means at the hub portion of the disc to prevent loosening of the disc on the 15 hub, and chucking of the discs when a dual wheel construction is employed.

My present invention contemplates broadly the provision of a disc construction so formed that the disc may be more or less permanently secured...

w to the hub of the wheel, and a demountable rim can be mounted on the peripheral portionfof the disc, thereby eliminating the necessity for carrying an extra discand rim.

One of the main advantages secured by the present invention is the ability to provide a solid support for the disc at the hub of the wheel, and also to provide a construction which can be alternatively employed for either single or dual wheel assemblies. In connection with this fea- 30 ture, I preferably provide, in a dual wheel assembly, for a press-fit of the inner disc on thehub, thereby rigidly and more or less perma-f nently attaching the disc to the hub so that no possibility of loosening of the clamping nuts or 35 relative radial displacement of the disc'with respect to the center of the hub can be effected. Thus, in my dual wheel construction the inboard disc is pressed onto a suitable shoulder on the hub, and the outer disc is more or less rigidly attached to the hub by means of clamping studs and bolts. Since, in case of punctures or blowouts, the tire rim can be detached from the disc without the necessity of removing the disc from the hub, this afiords the advantage of allowing 45 a more permanent type of mounting of the disc at the hub.

Another important advantage secured by the present invention is the provision of a disc which may be formed in the standard manner, and 50 which need be subjected only to a relatively economic stamping operation in oider to form it into a disc capable of carrying a demountable rim. This eliminates the necessity of the rivet connection between the rim and disc as in pres- 55 ent disc wheel constructions, and insures economic replacement of either the disc or rim in case 01' failure of one of these members.\' It is also within the purview oi the present invention to form the disc as a casting, if so desired.

By reason of the semi-permanent fastening on .5 the hub and the easy accessibility of the rimsupporting means at the periphery of the disc, the mounting and demounting of the rims independently oi the discs is facilitated, and the operator is not required to shift as much weight in changing of a tire as required when both the rim anddisc had to be removed from the hub and a new rim and disc secured thereto.

The present invention thus accomplishes important advantages in disc type mounting of wheels, while yet retaining a simple construction that is substantially as economical as previous disc constructions 'and is more efiicient in the operation of changing tires or assembling and Y disassembling the construction.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more fully-from the fol lowing detailed description which, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, will disclose to those skilled in the art the particular construction and operation of preferred embodiof a single wheel assemblyembodying the present x invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of Figure 1; v Figure 3 is a plan view laid out as a development of a portion of theperiphery of the disc;

Figure 4 is a lateral sectional view through, a dual wheel assembly embodying the principles of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 3; 40

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure 'l is a sectional view taken substantially on line 1-1 of Figure 3;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 8-8 of Figure 3; and

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 9 -9 of Figure 3. Referring now in detail to the disclosure of Figures 1 and 2, the disc is'indicated generally at 5 and is formed in any usual manner, Preferably being provided with the cut-out portions 6 which serve to simulate a spoke construction and provide; in a dual wheel assembly, openings 55 through which the inner valve stem may be reached.

The disc of Figure 1 in section is shown substantially as indicated in Figure 2, having the.

reentrant portion 1 which terminates in the radially inwardly extending flange 8 which is secured to the hub of a wheel, preferably by a pressflt, over laterally projecting clamping studs (not shown), and which is held against lateral displacement by'means of clamping nuts engaging the lateral surface of the disc. This provides for centering the disc accurately with respect-to the hub, and insures that the disc will have no radial movement with respect to the hub, which is distinctly advantageous when considered in connection with previous constructions in which the inner peripheral edge of the disc was loosely slipped over the hub and held in position only by the clamping studs, which had to take all of the load'as well as the torque.

The outer peripheral edge of the disc is provided with a tapered substantially conical peripheral surface indicated at 9 which, at circumferentially spaced portions, is provided with recesses l0 formed by a stamping operation which presses the wall l2 of the disc into radial position to form an axially outwardly opening socket adapted to have the clamping bolt l3 extending therethrough forv receiving the clamping lug I 4 which is provided with a heel portion l5 engaging the lower portion of the wall l2 and with a lip portion l6 engaging the lateral edge of the beveled portion I! of the rim I8. Upon tightening of the nut I9 on the bolt l3, the lug I4 is heeled about the point l5 to wedge the rim I8 laterally inwardly on the tapered surface 9 to fix the'rim laterally and radially in position on the disc.-

Considering now in detail the dual wheel assembly shown in Figure 4, the hub for the wheel is indicated generally at 28 and is adapted to have bearing seating portions 22 for receiving the bearings, rotatably mounting the hub on the end of the axle housing. The axle is indicated at 23 and has the outer flanged portion 24 which is secured to the outer radial face of the hub 28 by means of the bolts 25, thereby securing the hub to the spindle 23 for driving engagement.

The hub is provided with a radially extending flange portion 26 having spaced rearwardly extending bosses 21 terminating at their radial inner portions in annular seats 28 receiving the head flange 29 of a brake drum 30. The drum 38 is secured to the hub by means of the bolts 32 which extend through-the flange 26 and the bosses 21, and are threaded to receive the nuts 33 for clamping the drum rigidly to the flange. A brake closure plate 34 is preferably clamped between the bolts 33 and the flange 29 of the drum, and encloses the inner end of the hub 20. On the outer face of the flange 26, an annular seat 35 is provided which is adapted to be engaged by the inner defining edge of the inwardly extending portion 36 of an inboard disc 31.' The disc is adapted to have a press-fit over the shoulder 35 and is moved into abutting engagement with the outer radial face of the flange 26, whereby it is fixed in position on the hub 28 independently of the clamping means. However, the bolt 32 extends through the disc 31 and is provided with a collar portion 38 serving to hold the disc against outer lateral displacement, the disc having the portion adjacent the collar peened over the outer face thereof;

The disc 31 corresponds somewhat to the disc 5 previously described, except that the peripheral conical flange portion 40 is oifset laterally inwardly with respect to the lateral inwardly extending portion 36. Adjacent the outer periphery of the disc 31, a plurality of outwardly opening sockets 42 are provided corresponding to the sockets I 8, terminating in radially extending transverse walls 43 and receiving clamping bolts 44 which extend therethrough and which carry the clamping lugs 45 having the heel portions 46 bearing against the radial inner ends of the walls 43, and having the outer lip portions 41 hearing against the outer marginal edge of the rim 48.- Suitable nuts 49 serve to move thelugs 45 inwardly on-the bolts 44 to wedge the rim 48 'into fixed seating engagement on the flange 40 of the disc.

The outboard disc 50 is similar to the inboard disc but is provided with the tapered socket portions 52 adjacent the inner periphery thereof,

which receive the projecting ends of the bolts 32 and which are engaged by the wedge portions 53 of the locking nuts 54. This provides for moving the disc 50 into lateral abutting engagement with the outer radial face of the portion 36 of the disc 31, and also centers the disc with respect to the hub 20. The nuts 54 lock the disc in fixed position on the studs 32 and may be of such size as to form a more or less positive and rigid support for the outboard disc.

The nuts 64 also serve to clamp the annular ring member 55 in position against the outer face of the disc 50, this ring member being provided with an annular outwardly facing groove 56 adapted to receive the beaded edge 51 of a hub cap 58 which encloses the clamping studs and the outer end of the hub 20 and spindle 23. The disc 58 is adapted to receive a rim 60 corresponding tothe rims l8 and 48, each of these rims being provided with the driving plates or driving lugs 62 secured to the inner web surface thereof and also being provided with apertures 63 which receive the inwardly extending valve stem members 64 connected to the inner tubes carried by the tires supported on the rims. The rims are of more or less conventional design of the type used on cast metal wheels.

The discs 31 and 50 are formed at their outer periphery substantially in the same manner as the disc I, but have the radial inner clamping portions which engage the hub disposed in'laterally oiTset position with respect to the peripheral rim portions in order that the proper spacing between the rims 48 and 60' may be obtained.

In Figure 3 there is disclosed a development of a portion of the periphery of the disc, this being typical of any one'of the discs'l, 31, or 50. For purposes of description, the disc 31 will be considered as the disc shown in Figures 3, and 5 to 9, inclusive. Itwill be noted from Figure 3 that the socket portion 42 is provided with defining wall portions 18 which are shown more in detail in Figure 9, the walls 10 terminating at their upper ends in the laterally projecting spaced seating portions 12 which initially center the rim on the disc, these seating portions merging into a continuation of the tapered surface '40 of the periphery oi. the disc. The transverse wall 43, which has the aperture 13 for receiving the clamping bolt 44, extends substantially radially of the disc and terminates the axial inner end of the socket portion 42. The normal extent of the tapered portion 40 of the disc is indicated by the dotted line 14 which indicates that the seating portions 12 are formed only adjacent the socket portion 42 about the periphery of the disc. Thus, as shown in Figure 7, the seating portions I! extend laterally and circumferentially on opposite sides of the socket 42, and provide initial rim-centering surfaces which will center the rim prior to its being wedged upwardly on the beveled portion of the periphery of the disc.

In order to accommodate the valve stem carried by the inner tube supported on the rim, the rim is suitably stamped, as indicated at 15, to provide a relatively deepradial recess for receiving the valve stem member. This recess is flanked on opposite sides by circumferentially spaced radially extending shoulders which are indicated in Figures 5 and 6 by the reference numeral "it. Intermediate the shoulders 16 and on opposite sides of the recess I5, there is a recessed portion provided by thewalls H which allows the driving lugs 62 of the rim to beseated thereon, and to engage against the oppositely facing shoulders It for preventing rotation of the rim with respect to the disc. The driving lugs are located on opposite sides of the valve stem opening for the rim and, consequently, center the valve stem in the recess I5 when engaged with the shoulders it. As shown in Figure 8, the normal peripheral extent of the disc intermediate sockets t2 provides the tapered surface 40 which forms the seating surface for the beveled marginal edge of the rim, and is provided at points corresponding to the spacing of spokes about the disc W with laterally projecting rim-centering portions l2 struck outwardly of the peripheral margin of the disc on opposite sides or the lugreceiving sockets it.

The disc may be formed into the shape 'disclosed in Figure 3 by any desired stamping operation, preferably when the disc is initially formed, which produces the lug-receiving sockets, the driving shoulders and the valve stem recess, in addition to the shoulders I2, forming initial rimcentering means. This provides a very econom- :ical construction, which includes the advantageous feature of allowing for detachable mounting of the rim on the periphery of the disc whereby the disc may be more or less permanently secured to the hub and need not be dis- 4 placed in order to remove the rim.

In the assembly shown in Figure 2, the disc I is permanently secured to the hub of the wheel and, in case of deflation oi the tire carried by the rim l8, the rim can be readily demounted by removing the clamping lugs I4 and allowing the rim to be withdrawn laterally from the disc.

It is sometimes desirable to mount a second creasing the contact area supporting the weight of the vehicle, and prevents the wheels from sinking down in soft ground.

It is therefore apparent that I have provided a novel type of demountable disc wheel construction which embodies features of utility not heretofore possible in structures with which we have been familiar. The cost of the present construction is not appreciably greater than the cost of an ordinary type of disc wheel assembly in which the rim and disc are permanently secured together, and due to the fact that the necessity of. carrying an extra disc is eliminated, an economical construction is provided. Further, the present construction eliminates the problem of securing the disc to the hub, since the disc can be more or less permanently secured to the hub and thus avoids a number of objectionable features of previous constructions.

I do not intend to limit this invention to the exact type of disc construction herein shown and described, but only insofar as defined by the scope and spirit of the appended claim.

I claim:

A wheel disc adapted to'be secured to a hub and comprising a frusto-conical body portion terminating in a circumferentially continuous beveled flange, and a series of circumferentially spaced recesses in said body portion at the radial inner end of said flange, each of said recesses comprising a radially outwardly opening U- shaped socket extending axially and having the radial outward ends of its sides defining walls merging circumferentially with flanges projecting axially outwardly from the surface of said flange to form circumferentially spaced abutments thereon.

FREDERICK W. BURGER. 

